“An aspiring fashion designer is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something darker.” -IMDB
If you would like to learn just how much of a wimp I am, please feel free to check out my podcast, Valley Girl, with my good friend and pop culture soulmate, Courtney Stapley. We recently released an episode discussing the greatest horror movies of all time. I MC’d that discussion between Courtney and our good friends, Allie and Allison, primarily because I’ve seen almost none of the movies discussed. I am not a horror fan. Let me clarify…
It’s not that I think scary movies are bad or inferior, I just cannot handle them. Throw me a true crime podcast or documentary, I’m in. But I am very selective when it comes to what type of fictional thriller lands within my wheelhouse.
We’ll Last Night in Soho landed squarely there. I LOVED IT! That shouldn’t have surprised me, Edgar Wright is one of my favorite filmmakers, having direct and co-written the impeccable Cornetto Trilogy. Wright mixes tension, aesthetics, humor, and timing to build a world that simultaneously entices and repulses you.
What also makes Last Night particularly unique is it’s focus on a particularly troublesome attitude that we see in today’s world: the glorification of the past. The glory days appeal to all of us, though the time period we focus on may differ. Thomasin McKenzie’s character, Eloise, does just that. She glorifies the swinging London sixties, until visions force her to face some of the uglier truths of that time. And as with the incredible Promising Young Woman, the monsters in this horror may live closer to home than you think.
The only critique I have is that the ending gets a little sloppy. The build up of the narrative is so enticing to watch (not to mention that it’s a colorful and visually stunning movie), but the storyline goes off the rails a little bit at the end. But, honestly, I was engrossed in watching the film by that point that I didn’t really mind. I had already been sold.
So whether you are a fan of thrillers or a big old wimp, like myself, I highly recommend this film as an enjoyable roller coaster of a ride.
Rating: 8 out of 10 Claire Bears
🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻
If you like this movie, you should also watch: Promising Young Woman, Baby Driver, The Handmaiden
Streaming: Available in theaters
With: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg, Michael Ajao
Directed By: Edgar Wright
Let Me Clarify 